Portable beverage bottle heaters and coolers

ABSTRACT

A portable temperature changing apparatus for containers includes a cylindrical annular moisture-proof pouch divided into a first compartment filled with a liquid and a second separate compartment holding a solid material capable of producing an endothermic or exothermic reaction upon mixing with the liquid. The seal separating the two separate compartments can be ruptured partially, when desired, enabling communication of the liquid with the solid to activate the temperature altering reaction. A flexible foam insulating layer surrounds the exterior of the annular cylindrical pouch providing insulation, damage protection, and labeling.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This patent application is related to and claims priority from U.S.Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/883,546 filed Jan. 5, 2007.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates, in general, to portable methods ofheating and cooling beverages and, more particularly, this inventionrelates to outer wraps of chemicals which when forced to mix or changephase can either heat or cool the contents of the beverage container.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Prior to the conception and development of the present invention,mothers traveling with infants have had to search for sources of heat towarm a baby's bottle. Or those wanting a cold beverage would need ice orrefrigeration to cool a beverage down. Ice or gel packs will eventuallymelt or warm up, thus they provide only a temporary solution. There arenumerous methods or devices disclosed in the prior art literature foron-demand heating and cooling of beverages.

U.S. Pat. No. 2,589,645 discloses an insulating and heating jacket forchilled baby bottles while traveling. It has a one-time-use pouch ofsolid and an external cardboard and cotton insulating jacket. The pouchmust be opened and water poured in to activate the heating whichproduces a temperature of between 102 and 108 F. With this temperaturerange, it is doubtful that the heating is very rapid, and a long waitingperiod is probably necessary before the bottle is warm enough. Anotherportable heating device for baby bottles is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No.6,234,165, which teaches using two separated chemical which whendeliberately combined start a chemical reaction producing a hot gas,which can in turn heat the bottle contents.

The prior art literature discloses numerous examples of self-cooling andself-heating beverage containers, such as U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,636,726,4,736,599, 4,784,678, 5,626,022, and 6,502,407. A common feature ofnearly all of these is the location of the heating or cooling meansinternal to the beverage container, such as in a cavity. While thisprotects the means from damage, it necessitates a custom design of thebeverage container thereby greatly increasing the investment and cost toproduce these containers.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a portable temperature changing apparatusfor wrapping around containers, this apparatus consisting of a generallycylindrical annular moisture-proof pouch divided into a firstcompartment filled with a liquid and a second separate compartmentholding a solid material capable of producing an endothermic orexothermic reaction upon mixing with the liquid. The seal separating thetwo separate compartments can be ruptured partially when desired,enabling communication of the liquid with the solid to activate thetemperature altering reaction. A flexible foam insulating layersurrounds the exterior of the annular cylindrical pouch providinginsulation, damage protection, and labeling.

In an alternative embodiment designed for reusable heating, a removablegenerally moisture proof cylindrical annular pouch is a singlecompartment filled with a normally super-cooled liquid solution. Animbedded activator disk surrounded by the solution can be manuallyflexed to initiate the heat-liberating freezing of the solution. Aflexible exterior foam layer provides insulation and a method to securethe wrap around a standard baby bottle or other container.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION

It is, therefore, one of the primary objects of the present invention toprovide a convenient portable method for heating beverage containers,such as baby bottles, when other heating sources are not readilyavailable.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a portabledisposable beverage container wrap that can cool a beverage from ambientto a desirable temperature in a few minutes before drinking.

Still another object of the present invention is to combine a beveragecooling or heating means with the labeling for the beverage container.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a portablereusable heating wrap for baby bottles not needing any immediate sourceof energy.

An additional object of the present invention is to provide acombination cooling/labeling system for portable self-contained beveragecooling that is adaptable to many current bottle designs thus making itless costly to implement than existing ones that drastically redesignthe container.

In addition to the various objects and advantages of the presentinvention described with some degree of specificity above, it should beobvious that additional objects and advantages of the present inventionwill become more readily apparent to those persons who are skilled inthe relevant art from the following more detailed description of theinvention, particularly, when such description is taken in conjunctionwith the attached drawing figures and with the appended claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an elevation perspective view, partly in section, of a babybottle with one-time use heating device.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of a disposable beverage bottlewith a one-time use cooling device and label.

FIG. 3 is an elevation perspective view, partly in section, of aportable reusable heating wrap for a baby bottle.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF A PRESENTLY PREFERRED AND VARIOUS ALTERNATIVEEMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

Prior to proceeding to the more detailed description of the presentinvention it should be noted that, for the sake of clarity andunderstanding, identical components which have identical functions havebeen identified with identical reference numerals throughout the severalviews illustrated in the drawing figures.

Referring initially to FIG. 1, an embodiment of the invention 10 isillustrated. A baby bottle 12 has threads 14 at the top for a matingnipple assembly, not shown. One example is the Avent 9-oz NaturalFeeding System. While this one has an hour-glass contour as shown, manyother shapes and height/diameter ratios would also be acceptable. Atwo-compartment annular pouch 20 is in close contact with the outerside-wall surface of the bottle 16. A thin layer of protective andinsulating foam 18 surrounds substantially all of the side wall area ofthe pouch 20 and bottle 16. Inside the upper compartment of the pouch 20is a liquid 22, typically water or an aqueous salt solution. The lowercompartment of the pouch 20 holds solid crystals, pellets, or powder 24that will produce heat when mixed with the liquid. There are manyexamples of suitable exotherm-producing solids, such as a preferredmixture of calcium oxide and an anhydrous chloride salt. One of severalalternatives would be anhydrous magnesium sulfate as taught in U.S. Pat.No. 3,328,136. A membrane 25 separates the upper compartment and itsliquid 22 from the lower compartment and its solid material 24. Membrane25 is in one embodiment pressure sensitive so that firm pressure to theupper compartment will intentionally rupture the membrane 25sufficiently to allow the liquid 22 to mix with the solids 24.Technology of this nature is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,674,134 and ishereby incorporated by reference. In an alternative embodiment, a pullstring mechanism as described below could be used to rupture themembrane 25.

FIG. 2 provides an exploded perspective elevation view of a secondembodiment of the invention for cooling a beverage bottle 30 with adisposable self-cooling jacket 33 that is sandwiched between aninsulating layer 18 and the bottle 30. The exterior of the insulatinglayer 18 is suitable for printing on and thus serves also as the productlabel 32. The cooling jacket 33 has an upper compartment with a liquid22 and a lower compartment with a reactive solid 34. A membrane 25separates the two compartments until deliberately ruptured. Preferably,the membrane 25 may be ruptured by a pull string 26, or alternatively byfirm pressure where membrane 26 is a pressure-sensitive membrane.Massaging the insulating layer further mixes the two ingredients causingan endothermic physical or chemical reaction that cools the beverage inthe bottle 30. Water is the typical liquid ingredient 22, and examplesof acceptable solids are urea and ammonium nitrate, but many others alsoare acceptable. For product design purposes, it is desirable to be ableto cool a 12 fluid ounce (˜350 grams) drink from approximately 90 F to40 F. By reference to data provided in U.S. Pat. No. 6,233,945, thecooling jacket would need to contain about 150 grams of water and 250grams of a urea/ammonium nitrate blend. The water segment of the jacketmight then typically measure 21 cm long by 7 cm high by 1.0 cm thick.

FIG. 3 depicts a third embodiment of the invention illustrating in asectional elevation view a reusable portable method of heating thecontents of a baby bottle 12. A flexible polymeric pouch 20 is attachedat the outer surface to a thin flexible outer foam layer 18 thatinsulates and holds the pouch and its liquid contents 28 in closecontact to the outer surface 16 of the bottle 12. A hook and loopfastener 19, such as Velcro®, along the two lateral vertical edges ofthe foam layer 18 enable easy securing and removal of the two layers tothe bottle surface 16. Accessible through a small window, not shown, inthe outer foam layer 18 is a flexible activation disk 38 that triggers aphase change of the super-cooled liquid 28. Examples of a suitableliquid and activator are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,077,390 and4,872,442, and are hereby incorporated by reference. Aqueous sodiumacetate solution would be a preferred liquid. Upon activation bymanually flexing activator 38, the solution rapidly starts freezing thusliberating the latent heat of the phase change to a solid. In the caseof the preferred sodium acetate solution, this occurs rapidly but with atemperature limited to about 130 F. This temperature is adequate toprovide a significant temperature difference for heat transfer whilestill being at a sufficiently safe temperature to prevent overheating.For reuse, the wrap is removed and placed in boiling water for about 10minutes to melt to a liquid solution. The exterior surface of the foamlayer can be printed on to include instructions and/or logos.

While a presently preferred and various alternative embodiments of thepresent invention have been described in sufficient detail above toenable a person skilled in the relevant art to make and use the same, itshould be obvious that various other adaptations and modifications canbe envisioned by those persons skilled in such art without departingfrom either the spirit of the invention or the scope of the appendedclaims.

1. A portable disposable self-heating apparatus for a container,comprising: a) a generally cylindrical annular moisture-proof pouchincluding a first separate compartment and a second separatecompartment, said annular pouch enveloping the outer sidewall surface ofsuch container; b) a predetermined liquid disposed within said firstseparate compartment; c) predetermined particulate solid materialcapable of producing an exotherm upon mixing with said liquid, whereinsaid particulate solid material is disposed within said second separatecompartment at least partially adjacent to said first separatecompartment; d) a sealing means separating said first separatecompartment from said second separate compartment; e) a rupturing meansto breach said sealing means to enable, when desired, communication ofliquid between said first separate compartment and said second separatecompartment; and g) a flexible foam insulating layer on exterior of saidannular cylindrical pouch.
 2. The portable self-heating apparatus for acontainer, according to claim 1, wherein said predetermined particulatematerial consists of at least anhydrous calcium oxide and zero to 50percent other anhydrous solid material.
 3. The portable self-heatingapparatus for a container, according to claim 1, wherein saidpredetermined particulate material consists of at least anhydrousmagnesium sulfate and zero to 50 percent other anhydrous solid material.4. The portable self-heating apparatus for a container, according toclaim 1, wherein said predetermined liquid disposed within said firstseparate compartment is at least 90 percent water.
 5. The portableself-heating apparatus for a container, according to claim 1, whereinsaid flexible foam insulating layer has an exterior surface that isprintable with one of instructions, logo and combinations thereof. 6.The portable self-heating apparatus for a container, according to claim1, wherein said rupturing means is a pressure-sensitive seal betweensaid first separate compartment and said second separate compartment. 7.The portable self-heating apparatus for a container, according to claim1, wherein said rupturing means is a pull string attached to a portionof said sealing means between said first separate compartment and saidsecond separate compartment.
 8. A portable self-cooling apparatus for acontainer comprising: a) a generally cylindrical annular moisture-proofpouch including a first separate compartment and a second separatecompartment, said annular pouch sized to fit in close contact around theouter sidewall surface of said such container; b) a predetermined liquiddisposed within said first separate compartment; c) predeterminedparticulate solid material capable of producing an endothermic reactionupon mixing with said liquid, wherein said particulate solid material isdisposed within said second separate compartment; d) a sealing meansseparating said first separate compartment from said second separatecompartment; e) a rupturing means to breach said sealing means to allow,when desired, communication of liquid between said first separatecompartment and said second separate compartment; and f) a flexible foaminsulating layer on exterior of said annular cylindrical pouch, whereinsaid exterior surface of said foam insulating layer is imprintable as alabel for said container.
 9. The portable self-cooling apparatus for acontainer, according to claim 8, wherein said predetermined liquiddisposed within said first separate compartment is at least 90 percentwater.
 10. The portable self-cooling apparatus for a container,according to claim 8, wherein said predetermined particulate material isone of urea, ammonium nitrate, and combinations thereof.
 11. Theportable self-cooling apparatus for a container, according to claim 8,wherein said rupturing means is a pressure-sensitive seal between saidfirst separate compartment and said second separate compartment.
 12. Theportable self-cooling apparatus for a container, according to claim 8,wherein said rupturing means is a pull string attached to a portion ofsaid sealing means between said first separate compartment and saidsecond separate compartment.
 13. A portable reusable self-heatingapparatus for bottles comprising: a) a substantially rectangularflexible liquid-tight pouch of a first predetermined width and firstpredetermined length; b) a preselected liquid solution that remains as asuper-cooled liquid until mechanical nucleation of crystallization,wherein said liquid solution is disposed within said flexibleliquid-tight pouch; c) a flexible freezing activator located interior tosaid flexible pouch and in contact with said liquid solution; d) asubstantially rectangular flexible foam sheet secured to one side ofsaid rectangular flexible pouch, said flexible foam sheet having asecond width substantially equal to said first predetermined width and asecond predetermined length exceeding said first predetermined length;e) a fastening means secured at least to area adjacent said lateraledges of said flexible foam sheet.
 14. The portable reusableself-heating apparatus for bottles, according to claim 13, wherein saidpreselected liquid is substantially a sodium acetate solution.
 15. Theportable reusable self-heating apparatus for bottles, according to claim13, wherein said preselected liquid is substantially a solution ofdextrose, sodium thiosulfate, and water.
 16. The portable reusableself-heating apparatus for bottles, according to claim 13, wherein saidfastening means is a hook and loop fastener.
 17. The portable reusableself-heating apparatus for bottles, according to claim 13, wherein saidfirst predetermined length is between about 12 centimeters and 50centimeters.